1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates generally to wet shaving devices, and more specifically to safety razors having a dispensing head in fluid communication with a reservoir of a flowable shaving aid material and a removable shield therebetween.
2. Background Information
Many modern shaving implements, commonly known as wet shave or safety razors, include a disposable razor cartridge, releasably connected to a reusable handle. Other modern safety razors have a handle and a razor cartridge that are intended to be permanently coupled and disposed of as a single unit. The cartridge comprises a housing having at least one razor blade with a cutting edge disposed therein.
There have been many proposals to provide a safety razor with a dispensing system for delivering to the skin during shaving a flowable shaving aid material, such as shave foam, shave cream or other lubricating fluid, or skin care materials that cleanse or otherwise care for the skin. The material is stored within a reservoir ready for use. The flowable shaving aid material can replace a customary shaving preparation or can be used in addition thereto. The reservoir is in fluid communication with a dispensing head to deliver the shaving aid material to the skin surface of a user during a normal shaving operation. The dispensing head can include a valve arrangement to regulate the flow of the shaving aid material and the dispensing head can be integral with the razor cartridge or situated adjacent thereto. Several different types of dispensing head have been proposed, including those utilizing a capillary wick, e.g. as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,775 to Althaus et al. and an array of apertures, valves or rollers that partially or completely surround the cutting edge(s), e.g. as disclosed respectively in U.S. Pat. No. 7,137,203 to Bressler et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,043,841 to Franzini et al. and U.S. Patent application publication 2005/0138814.
In the course of, for example, shipment of such razors between the manufacturer and the retail outlet or end user, certain changes in meteorological conditions can occur such as changes in barometric pressure and/or ambient temperature. Such changes can lead to changes in properties of a shaving aid material stored therein e.g. viscosity changes or changes in volume due to thermal expansion or contraction. Furthermore, similar differential dimensional changes due to thermal expansion can affect the effectiveness of various valve arrangements where provided. One effect of such changes is that the shaving aid material can drool or otherwise exude in small quantities which can be unattractive and make the razor undesirable for a potential purchaser. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,392 to Mislove a shaving head is filled with a quantity of shaving soap and enclosed by a removable tape prior to use. However, some dispensing heads of e.g. the aforementioned '775 or '841 patents or the '814 application have generally non-flat skin contacting surfaces of their dispensing heads due to the nature of the capillary wick or the presence of protruding valves or rollers. Suitably adhering a removable tape to such non-flat surfaces provides manufacturing challenges. In addition any reaction between the shaving aid material and an adhesive coating of the removable tape can result in a reduction of adhesiveness.